The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office handled the following incidents in Lakeland during the latter half of January. For earlier January incidents, see last week’s issue of The Bartlett Express.
Editor’s note: All suspects are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and values are estimated for stolen/damaged items. These are brief summaries of detailed SCSO reports.
Jan. 16
Davies Plantation (theft from motor vehicle)
A man attending a family member’s birthday party at Cracker Barrel (9649 East Davies Plantation Road) on Jan. 16 was a crime victim within 30 minutes.
He found that someone had smashed the rear driver’s side window of his F-350 and taken his backpack. It contained a Microsoft Xbox, white controller, headset, mic, Apple phone charger, two video games and Nike tennis shoes ($800 total). The restaurant’s surveillance cameras had no visibility of the incident.
The incident happened between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Jan. 18
Woodland Fern Drive (other theft/non-specific)
Someone stole a package from a woman’s mailbox on Jan. 18. She said the postal service delivers mail around 1:30 p.m., and she saw the empty package in a neighbor’s yard at 3:30 p.m. The package contained a phone battery charger. It happened on the 9900 block of Woodland Fern Drive.
Jan. 19
Huff N Puff Road (intimidation)
A man asleep in the lobby of Motel 6 (9822 Huff N Puff Road) made threats when asked to leave, according to the general manager.
The suspect wasn’t a motel guest, and he refused to leave when asked. The general manager called the sheriff’s office, and the suspect got angry and verbally abusive, walking up to the victim. He only left when the victim threatened to press charges if he the suspect hit him. The suspect reportedly threatened to kill him but then left on foot.
The responding officers located the suspect behind the McDonald’s at 3665 Canada Road and detained him during their investigation. They found there was a misdemeanor warrant for the suspect out of Georgia but per the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) there was no extradition (in-state pickup only). Officers told him not to go back on Motel 6 property and released him.
The incident happened between 10:51 a.m. and 11:22 a.m. There was security camera footage of the incident but no audio, and there was one witness.
Rue Bienville Place (theft from building)
A woman who let her daughter’s ex-boyfriend and his two friends into her home realized some items were missing when they left.
She let them inside on Jan. 18 because the ex-boyfriend said he wanted to talk with her. Once inside, he took it upon himself to give the other two a tour of her home since he was familiar with it. She said he was showing off some of her personal valuables, and they all made small talk with her as if they were trying to make her lose focus.
A couple of hours after they left, she realized several items were missing: A Reeds ring, Sissy’s Log Cabin bracelet and another necklace. She called the ex-boyfriend and demanded a return of the items or she would call law enforcement. She said he returned on Jan. 19 and apologized but only returned one additional item he had stolen, a black necklace.
He said he’d already given the other jewelry to Jazz, a drug dealer to whom he owed money, she reported. She told the responding officers she didn’t know the address of the suspects but could show officers exactly where they live.
Jan. 20
Owl Hill Drive (intimidation)
On Jan. 20, a woman reported getting annoying and harassing Facebook messages from her ex-husband’s girlfriend for several months. The responding officer reviewed taunting messages that began on Oct. 16 and continued through Jan. 15.
The messages labeled her as a gold digger and worse, saying, “All you want is more money” and “People like you just need to find a hole and die.”
Jan. 22
Huff N Puff Road (felony drugs/narcotics violation)
Officers responding to a 911 hang-up call at Motel 6 (9822 Huff N Puff Road) went to the caller’s room and found him acting suspiciously. The man said he called because his room was bugged with cameras and the FBI was watching him. He also said he was on powder cocaine and had drunk a 12-pack of beer.
The man began pacing, saying, “Somebody trying to kill me.” He then said he had cocaine in his pocket and wanted to go to jail because he feared for his life. He handed over a bag of white powder that later tested positive as cocaine with a weight of 0.6 gram.
Hadley Street (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone ransacked a man’s two unlocked vehicles and stole hundreds of dollars’ worth of belongings from one of them, the victim reported on Jan. 22.
Items stolen included an iPhone 6s work phone ($600)and a gym bag ($75) containing a pair of Nike Romero shoes ($200), a red-and-black weightlifting belt ($150), two pairs of wrist wraps ($50) and other miscellaneous gym items. The incident happened between 11 p.m. Jan. 21 and 8:45 a.m. Jan. 22.
Monroe Road (felony vandalism)
A man said Jan. 22 that someone had vandalized his horse trailer while it was parked at Trinity Farm (10365 Monroe Road). The locked side door had been pried open ($1,000). Another victim said someone also vandalized his semi-trailer ($2,000) but didn’t tamper with or remove any of its contents.
The first victim said the last person to leave the property was an employee around 7 p.m. on Jan. 21. He also said there are security cameras on the property but he wasn’t able to provide the footage at the time of the report.
Jan. 23
Mack Wood Drive (statutory rape)
On Jan. 23 someone reported a statutory rape on Mack Wood Drive, occurring between June 1, 2016, and Jan. 23. Additional information has not been released on this case.
Stonecrest Circle (felony vandalism)
A man and wife returned home and found the rear window of their car smashed in, they reported on Jan. 23. The responding officer didn’t find any nearby object that might have been used to damage the car. The victim said no other neighbors had similar vandalism. The couple said they had just moved there from out of state and had no incidents with anyone in the area.
The incident happened on the 3000 block of Stonecrest Circle between 9 p.m. and around 11 p.m.
Jan. 24
Champions Drive (simple assault)
A father reported Jan. 24 that an Arlington Middle School classmate punched his son once in the back after they walked away from their bus stop. According to the son, the suspect thought he was the person who hit him on the head with a plastic bottle during the bus ride. The son suffered a large bruise on his back.
The father took photos of the injury and notified the school, but he said school officials said it wasn’t their responsibility since it happened off school property and away from the bus stop.
Jan. 26
Maritime Drive (residential burglary)
A woman reported that someone burglarized her home between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Jan. 26. She returned to find her back door open and several items missing. The responding deputy saw that two latches were broken from the inside of the back door, but there was no damage to the door itself.
She said she believes she locked the door before leaving. This happened on the 9800 block of Maritime Drive.
Jan. 27
Putter Lane (misdemeanor vandalism)
A woman called the sheriff’s office to check her home on Jan. 27 when she found her front door damaged and two of its glass panels shattered ($600). The responding officers found no intruders and no signs of forced entry, and nothing was missing from the home.
The woman said her son had an altercation at school with another male juvenile earlier that week, and several of her son’s friends said that’s the reason why her home was vandalized.
The incident happened between 4:30 p.m. and about 6:45 p.m.
Fletcher Trace Parkway (aggravated assault)
In a domestic disturbance widely reported earlier this month, deputies responded to an aggravated assault at 9423 Fletcher Trace Parkway on Jan. 27. Through a window, they could see a white male lying on the kitchen floor, bleeding from the abdomen. They entered through the carport door and encountered the suspect, Ricky Lovelace, standing at the doorway with his hands raised.
He said he had shot his brother, Robert Lovelace, and the weapon was at the fireplace. The suspect complied with orders to lie face down with his hands by his side. Officers handcuffed him and secured him outside. His brother was responsive and speaking at the time. The deputies told dispatch to send a medical unit immediately.
Robert said his brother shot him over an argument about who should clean up after the family dog. Ricky said his brother tried to hit him with a fire poker and chased him into the living room with it, and that’s when he pulled out his weapon and shot his brother.
Shelby County Fire Unit #65, Med Squad #5 and Engine #65 responded, and SCFU #65 took the victim to Regional One Medical Center (The Med) in critical condition. The suspect reported feeling lightheaded as if his blood sugar was low, and he was taken to The Med in stable condition.
No arrest was made at the time of the report.
Jan. 29
Davies Plantation Road (other theft/non-specific)
A man playing golf at the 16th hole of Stonebridge Golf Course saw a Hispanic male about 13 years old running from where he had parked his golf cart. The man checked the cart and noticed his wallet was missing.
He chased the suspect but couldn’t catch him. He described him as wearing a teal green hoodie with gray pants and carrying a tie-dyed backpack.
The stolen wallet contained an Orion MasterCard/debit card and his driver’s license.
Jan. 30
Canada Road (individual robbery)
A man walked up to the Marathon gas station parking lot, bleeding from his head around 2:10 p.m. Jan. 30, and a bystander stopped to help and also helped to translate because there was a language barrier.
The victim said he was supposed to meet someone about a job at the Relax Inn (3645 Canada Road), where he had a room with a female companion. But a black male with dreadlocks forced his way into the room, cut his head with a knife and took his phone and wallet before fleeing.
The woman said she saw the suspect and a female earlier, sitting on a park bench behind the hotel, and she told officers her version of events: The two came to her hotel room door with the ruse of asking to use the phone, and the two of them forced their way inside. They swore at her and told her to sit down, but she forced her way out of the room and fled to the nearby McDonald’s. She said they might be in a white Chrysler 300.
The victim said the man who cut him was about 5 feet 7 inches tall, and the other suspect was a white female with long brown hair.
The responding officer saw that the victim had a large laceration on his head, and Shelby County Fire Unit #65 took the man to the Med in stable condition.
The hotel’s security footage showed a white sedan arriving with the female suspect driving and the male suspect in the passenger seat. They got out and walked behind the building. Then the victim and his female companion arrived and entered their room. The suspects came to the room, the male knocked, and both went inside. The victim’s female companion left the room, went into the suspects’ vehicle and then went to McDonald’s, where she hid in the bathroom.
Workers at the store advised her that she was hiding in the bathroom, acting suspiciously. Officers took her to Fayette County on a verified warrant.
Jan. 31
South Pottery Woods Cove (other theft/non-specific)
Someone stole three new Amana air conditioners from the exterior of a home under construction on the 3900 block of South Potter Woods Cove. The incident happened between 5:30 p.m. Jan. 27 and 10 a.m. Jan. 31.
The builder/owner said the units were a three-ton Amana GSX140241 air conditioner and two four-ton Amana GSX140481 air conditioners ($12,000 total value). Apparently the thief cut the power lines and copper tubing to remove the units.
A neighbor provided the victim with pictures from his security camera of an unknown van that appeared to be on the property between 4:51 p.m. and 4:57 p.m. Jan. 29.
An SCSO dispatcher put all three units’ information into the NCIC database.
